Legally Blind Boy Left Alone on Bus, Driver Fired

SOMERSET — A bus driver has been fired after allegedly leaving a young, legally blind boy alone on the vehicle.

Somerset Police received a report at about 4:45 p.m. on Monday from the mother of the child who stated that the driver of her child's transport van had left her five-year-old son alone in the van instead of dropping him off at his destination earlier in the afternoon.

The investigation revealed that the child was picked up from his preschool by a driver for the Fisher Bus company. The child was supposed to have been dropped off at his daycare. After the child failed to arrive at the daycare, officials at the center called the boy's mother to ask where he was.

The boy's mother contacted the bus company and a manager found the boy in a van in the company's parking lot. He was unharmed but had been left alone in the van for approximately 40 minutes.

The driver of the van, a 60-year-old Fall River woman, told police that she had checked some of the seats of the van when she returned to the Fisher Bus parking lot, but failed to check all of them. She said the boy was hidden from view as he had apparently fallen asleep in his seat.

The child was safely reunited with his mother following the incident.

The driver has been issued a civil citation by Somerset Police for failure to inspect a vehicle after transporting students. A representative for Fisher Bus says the woman is no longer with the company.